Climate Change, Cultural Heritage & Energy Efficient Monuments

10.-12.10.2011 | Wroclaw | Poland

4th European Heritage Forum

One of the events within the European Heritage Days this year was the 4th European Heritage Forum. It was a joint action of the Council of Europe and the European Union in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of Republic of Poland and the National Heritage Board of Poland. As an event accompanying the Polish Presidency of the Council of European Union it had a big impact on development of heritage protection.On October 10th-12th in Wroclaw discussions were held on the role of heritage in economic development. Several topics were raised: is heritage in the times of crisis a luxury or necessity? Is tourism the only factor affecting the economic potential of heritage? What is the impact of sustainable development on heritage? Participants of the discussion tried to make conclusions which could be further used when creating regional, national and transnational development strategies. According to the main theme of the forum “Value heritage! European heritage and economic development”, broad possibilities of using the economic and social potential of heritage were presented. Forum was held with participation of experts in economy, heritage, representatives of authorities and NGOs from European countries and the United States. The event was held under the patronage of Minister of Culture and Heritage, Bogdan Zdrojewski. Some of the participants were Mr. Daniel Thérond, Deputy Director of the Directorate of Culture and Cultural and Natural Heritage in the Council of Europe, Mr. Alessandro Senesi, Deputy Head of Culture Programme and Actions Unit of the Directorate-General for Education and Culture in the European Commission and Mr. Adam Grehl, Deputy Mayor of the City of Wrocław. Mr. László Tőkés, Vice President of the European Parliament and Mr. Jan Kaźmierczak, Vice-Chairperson of the Sub-Committee on the Cultural Heritage of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.